Historical data may not predict future performance. Even if it did, it wouldn’t help.

It would be brave to bet on the outcome of any of the four games in the first round of the 2008 Central ABL finals, for each of them involves teams that split their minor round games.

The annual double header at Hillcrest (annual because it happened last year too, and 12 months is the extent of my generation X attention span) will provide all sorts of atmosphere, the Rockets men and women both hoping to retain their respective double chances for another week. The men have avoided the “favourites” tag since the announcement that Dusty Rychart would not be returning, but the 2008 premiers have quietly compiled a 15 and 13 record, and only dropping games to fellow title contenders Norwood and Forestville. The Flames won’t have fond memories of their last game at Hillcrest (despite their bench drowning out the entire crowd in a great 4th quarter fight back), and would be looking to win the honour of tackling Forestville, and also avoiding Hillcrest for the rest of the finals series. The cliché “traditional rivals” sounds hackneyed, but never has been it more true. The equivalent game last year saw over 600 people squeeze into Mars, and with the rematch at the more cosy Hillcrest, you would want to get their early.

The North women finished 4th in 2007, eliminated at the hands of a barnstorming Norwood, but have improved on last year’s effort already, and earned the right to host this final with their 22 point victory over Forestville in April. The Rockets haven’t been ranked lower than 2nd place all season, and spent much of it sharing top spot, a position perhaps familiar to the 6 players that remain from the 2004 championship team (a free Hillcrest toasted sandwich if you can name them). Forestville too spent a lot of the season on or near the top of the ladder, a remarkable improvement from its 7th place in 2007. The Eagles boast a formidable backcourt, and only a slip to Norwood two weeks ago prevented it from having this week off.

With Marion hosting South men’s first finals appearance since 1999, the stadium will be more crowded than its new “away” change room. The rejuvenated Panthers reached their 2007 win record by round 11, and despite not beating any of the top 3 teams, have been competitive against each of them. Their opponents, Sturt, find themselves in an identical position to last year, in 5th place with a 50% record, and will be anxious to go one step further this year. They won their last matchup with South 2 weeks ago at Pasadena, but haven’t won at Marion since July 2006.

Widely tipped to miss major round action (hopefully not by those who predicted the same in 2007), Norwood’s women have stormed into the finals with stunning victories against Forestville and West in the last two rounds. The undersized 2007 grand finalists lost two of its three tallest players from last year, but have persisted with an exciting form of up-tempo basketball that suits its personnel immensely. Metro League premiers Southern had a great first half of the season, though a mid-season run of injuries saw the Tigers drop off slightly. Even so, it remained within 2 games of top spot, and earned Southern the right to host the first finals game at Morphett Vale since the newly formed club joined the Central ABL in 2004